Understanding the Growth and Prospects of Agro-Processing Industries

摘要

Dependence on agricultural sector, particularly on crop cultivation has resulted in widespread unemployment and underemployment in the country. The agricultural sector is characterized by ever declining land-man ratio, predominance of small and fragment land holdings and increasing application of labour saving production technologies. It is thus being increasingly realized nowadays that the very capacity of the agricultural sector is not enough to absorb the growing labour force. On the other, the organized industry sector, due to its capital-intensive nature cannot offer much scope for absorption of additional labour force. Further, the environment of liberalization, privatization and globalization has thrown up newer challenges for employment. Obviously, all these have aggravated the unemployment and underemployment situation in India which underscore the need for alternative avenues for employment generation. This brings the development of agro-based industries into sharp focus. The growth in agro-based industries has a big potential to trigger development through adding value to the farmers' produce, generating employment opportunities and increasing farmers' income. This in turn motivates the farmers for better productivity and opens up possibilities of industrial development. The processed products also have a large export potential. However such potential is hardly exploited. This underscores the need for undertaking the study.